Oddsmakers don’t seem impressed with the Steelers drafting Najee Harris. Tom Wilson is up to his old tricks. And a pair of happy goaltending debuts with Pittsburgh ties.
All that in Tuesday’s “First Call.”
Did Najee move the number?
BetOnline.ag released its Super Bowl odds after the NFL Draft.
How much did the Steelers’ decision to draft Najee Harris impact their chances?
Well, not at all. The Steelers were 33/1 to win the Super Bowl before the draft. They are 33/1 now. The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens are at 16/1 down from 18/1. The Kansas City Chiefs remain 11/2 favorites.
Meanwhile, the Penguins’ hot run through March and April narrowed their Stanley Cup odds. They are now at 12/1 to win the championship, the same as the Washington Capitals. That’s currently seventh in the NHL.
The Pens had been 16/1 on April 1. The Colorado Avalanche are still the favorites at 5/1.
Typical Tom
Tom Wilson is at it again. This time, the Washington Capitals thug … oh, I’m sorry. Did I write “thug”? I meant … the Washington Capitals forward got into it with Pavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers.
With the Rangers up 3-2 in the second period, Wilson thumped Buchnevich in the back of the head while Buchnevich was lying face down on the ice. That touched off a scrum and Wilson body-slammed Panarin to the ice, before punching him in the head as well.
Wilson got a 10-minute misconduct. Then he flexed to the Rangers before going off the ice.
The MSG Network recapped the play during its intermission report. Former NHL goaltender Stephen Valiquette ripped Wilson.
@VallysView just went off on Tom Wilson during the intermission #NYR pic.twitter.com/cvCA2YZHdr
— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) May 4, 2021
Needless to say, the Rangers were disgusted afterwards, as you can see from the reactions of forward Mika Zibanejad and coach David Quinn.
“I figured you should have some more respect for the game and for the players…it’s just horrible. Zero respect. I don’t know why I’m surprised” – Mika Zibanejad on the Tom Wilson incident tonight pic.twitter.com/f1veh5G3af
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) May 4, 2021
“We all saw it. There’s lines that can’t be crossed…one of the star players in this league now who could have been seriously seriously hurt in that incident” – David Quinn on the Tom Wilson incident with Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich pic.twitter.com/jDxrvNpyQ3
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) May 4, 2021
As for the game itself, the Rangers lost 6-3. So that — along with a Boston Bruins win — means they are eliminated from playoff contention. The Penguins, Capitals, Islanders and Bruins will be the East teams that qualify for the postseason in some order to be determined by season’s end.
Former Penguins Conor Sheary and Daniel Sprong scored. Wilson added an empty netter for good measure. Alex Ovechkin played one shift before leaving the ice after 39 seconds. He hadn’t played for four games thanks to a lower-body injury.
According to head coach Peter Laviolette, Ovechkin felt good this morning but wasn’t in top form after warmups. He tried to skate during the game but still wasn’t ready.
Defenseman John Carlson did return and played 25 minutes. He had missed the previous two games.
The Washington win, coupled with the Penguins’ 7-2 loss in Philadelphia, means that the Pens and Caps are tied atop the East Division with 71 points apiece. The Penguins have three games left. The Caps have four.
Boston is in third with 68 points. The Islanders are in fourth with 67.
A win for Wexford
Congrats to Buffalo Sabres goalie Michael Houser. Born in Youngstown and raised in Wexford, Houser got his first NHL start Monday. He earned a 4-2 victory.
THIS GUY @budlight | #BudLightCelly pic.twitter.com/7iyXu05Pje
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) May 4, 2021
Houser made 34 saves along the way. He is 28. He spent 13 years toiling in the minors prior to his call-up.
Happy for Kappy
Speaking of goaltending wins in debuts, former Robert Morris goalie Justin Kapelmaster made his American Hockey League debut for the Cleveland Monsters Sunday night.
And he got a 3-2 victory over the Texas Stars.
Congratulations to RMU alum @jpkappy on making 26 saves and earning the W in his AHL debut! #RMUnite | 🔴🔵 https://t.co/SoAeQqSnE4 pic.twitter.com/6AJlXXCVxi
— RMU Men’s Hockey (@RMUMHockey) May 3, 2021
Some more shots of @jpkappy from his AHL debut last night! #RMUnite | 🔴🔵
(: @ttlsports) pic.twitter.com/UOelbo6bN7
— RMU Men’s Hockey (@RMUMHockey) May 3, 2021
Kapelmaster made 26 saves along the way. In his lone season with the Colonials, the Ferris State transfer was 12-14-3 with a .929 save percentage and a 2.75 goals against average.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
